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Full catalog/AER_DBDT_D10KM_L3_VIIRS_SNPP
AER_DBDT_D10KM_L3_VIIRS_SNPP·v001·dataset

Haze, dust and smoke over land (Suomi-NPP, daily, 0.1 degree)

SNPP VIIRS High Resolution Level 3 daily aerosol data, 0.1x0.1 degree grid Version 001 (AER_DBDT_D10KM_L3_VIIRS_SNPP) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 3 active
In plain English

What it measures. How thick the haze, dust, and smoke in the air is over land each day, summarized on a fine 0.1-degree grid, with extra fields showing spread and how many measurements went into each value.

How it's made. Built by averaging daily land readings from two complementary methods (Deep Blue and Dark Target) applied to the VIIRS sensor on the Suomi-NPP satellite, keeping only the highest-quality pixels.

How & where you'd use it. Helps monitor air pollution, track smoke and dust events, and study how airborne particles affect health and climate.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › AEROSOLS › AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2012-03-04 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-179.95, -89.95, 179.95, 89.95
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

This High-Resolution (0.1 x 0.1 degree) Level 3 daily Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) product is generated by combining two Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) operational algorithms, namely Deep Blue (DB) and Dark Target (DT), on board the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. This dataset is provided in daily files ranging from 2012-03-04 to the present. The spatial coverage is global and the dataset is gridded at 0.1 x 0.1 degree spatial resolution. The data are generated using Level 2 AOD retrieved using DT and DB algorithms. The product provides multiple options for using data either from DT or DB or combined. Depending on user need and application, they can choose one or more relevant parameter. The pixels with highest quality as recommended by science teams are only considered in these averaging. In addition to averaged AOD at 0.1 x 0.1 degree resolution, standard deviation and number of pixels averaged from each algorithm are also provided. Average sensor zenith angle is also provided for additional filtering of the data. If you have any questions, please read the README document first and post your question to the NASA Earthdata Forum (forum.earthdata.nasa.gov) or email the GES DISC Help Desk (gsfc-dl-help-disc@mail.nasa.gov).

Get the data

aer_dbdt_d10km_l3_viirs_snpp_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="AER_DBDT_D10KM_L3_VIIRS_SNPP",
    version="001",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.